Each week, Sea And Be Scene has been bringing you an exclusive and intriguing glimpse into this exciting production, shooting this summer in Nova Scotia. What follows is the final blog post for the production portion of the film.... (please see links to previous "Happenings" at the bottom of this post to catch all THE HEALER action).

Last week we wrapped filming in Nova Scotia on THE HEALER, and we marked the occasion by connecting the dots – from global to local – around our charitable mission.

Writer-director Paco Arango is well known for supporting children with cancer – through financial donations and hands-on volunteerism. Proceeds from his previous film, MAKTUB, resulted in the creation of a bone marrow treatment centre in Madrid, Spain, where he has his own charitable foundation, Aladina Fundacion.

Arango has committed $500,000 from THE HEALER – via deferred fees and box-office proceeds – to the Serious Fun Children’s Network, a global organization founded by Paul Newman. Arango sits on the board of Serious Fun, which provides camp experiences and other programming to seriously ill kids.

And now he is also planning a donation to Nova Scotia’s IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

A few days before we wrapped principal photography on the film, Arango led a delegation affiliated with THE HEALER to the hospital, to exchange ideas and explore the cutting-edge research taking place there and at Dalhousie University.

Accompanying him were cast member Kaitlyn Bernard, who plays Abigail in the film, and Sandra Bryant, the mother of the real Abigail, a young cancer advocate from Halifax who lost her battle with the disease at age 17, as well as a small documentary team.

At the IWK, they met with doctors Conrad Fernandez, Shashi Gujar, Jason Berman, as well as Jyl MacKinnon of the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, and Joanna Hamilton, Director of Philanthropy at the IWK. They also had a tour of the Pediatric Hematology / Oncology Department and Dr. Berman’s Zebrafish Lab.

“I was blown away by the world-class research being done here. The zebrafish is providing an ideal model for studying blood and cancer development – it’s really amazing,” says Arango. “And Dr. Gujar’s work on using viruses to kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells could definitely be a game-changer. I am really excited to be collaborating with this impressive team.”

The outing also included an emotional meeting between Kaitlyn and Bryant, who finally had a chance to meet the girl who is playing Abigail in the film. The project has motivated Kaitlyn – who lives in Vancouver but has Nova Scotian roots – to undertake her own cancer fund-raiser.

She has pledged $15,000 - a significant portion of her earnings - to the Canadian Cancer Society through an initiative she’s calling Just Breathe, after a poem her character recites in the film. Kaitlyn also intends to seek additional corporate and individual donors with the goal of raising $150,000 for the Society's Camp Goodtimes. Arango has matched her donation so she is starting her campaign with $30,000.

The IWK team is hoping to hold a private screening of THE HEALER when it’s released, as a fundraiser.

“I’ll be back in one year to check up on all of the good work you’re doing,” Arango told them. SK

Skana Gee is unit publicist on THE HEALER. She’s been a communications consultant – specializing in film and television publicity – for the past seven years. Before that she was a long-time newspaper reporter and editor, covering everything from municipal politics to crime to entertainment. She lives in Halifax with her partner and two mostly wonderful children. She likes reading, running and a good vanilla latte.

SABS On-Line Hook-Ups for THE HEALER

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What is Sea and be Scene?

Launched on June 30, 2010 - Sea and be Scene is an entertainment based, magazine style website designed to celebrate the 4 Atlantic Provinces. Our goal is to profile all the people, places and things that make Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island so very special.